Multi-national coin totalizer

ABSTRACT

A coin sorter and totalizer which easily can be adapted to count the coins of many different countries despite the use of different coinage systems in those countries. The coins are sorted mechanically according to size, and an electrical signal identifying the coin according to its size is produced. Two sets of terminals are mounted near one another so that connections can be made to them easily. Changing these connections will change the scaling of the coin identification signals in accordance with the value of the coin of that size in the country in which the totalizer is to be used. The connections can be changed by the use of jumper wires, or by connecting a pre-wired multiple circuit element such as a printed circuit board, an integrated circuit chip, or a pre-wired plug-in panel between the sets of terminals. The connection process is very simple because only one wire need be connected for each size of coin to be totalized. The coin identification signals are stored temporarily in electrical latch circuits. The signals are read-out of those simple storage devices by means of a stepping register. A multiplier circuit scales the identification signals, and a binary-code-decimal counter is driven to totalize the values of the coins. A light-emitting diode array displays the total value of the coins. A warning device is provided to indicate when a power interruption has occurred so that the coins can be sorted and totalized again to avoid an error.

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 460,531,filed Apr. 12, 1974, now abandoned.

This invention relates to devices for totalizing the value of coins;more particularly, this invention relates to devices and methods forsorting and totalizing the value of coins.

Devices of the type to which this invention pertains often are used inbanks and by vending machine collectors and others who take inrelatively large numbers of coins in their businesses. The devices sortthe coins and separate them into different containers according to theirdenominations. The devices also add or totalize the value of the coinssorted.

One of the problems with prior coin value totalizers is caused by thesubstantial variations between systems of coinage in different countriesthroughout the world. For example, in many countries, such as the UnitedStates, the coin having the smallest value is equal to one-hundredth ofthe basic monetary unit (e.g., the dollar). In other countries, however,the lowest value is one-thousandth of basic monetary unit. The coinagedifferences from country to country make it very difficult to provide astandardized totalizer which easily can be modified for use in differentcountries.

Another problem with prior totalizer devices is that of unreliabilitycaused by interruptions in the line voltage. Such interruptions causeerroneous readings without the knowledge of the operator of the device.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide anessentially standardized coin value totalizer and fabrication methodwhich is essentially the same, regardless of the country in which it isto be used; one in which any modifications which are required are veryeasy to make. It is a further object to provide such a totalizer inwhich such modifications can be made with the use of relativelyunskilled labor, and so simply that there is little chance of error.Another object of the invention is to provide a totalizer device whichdetects and gives a warning indication when power interruptions occurduring the totalizing operation. It is a further object of the inventionto provide such a device and method which is relatively simple andinexpensive to make and use.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are metby the provision of a totalizer device with a construction such that twosets of terminals are provided, one providing coin identifyng signals,and the other for conducting signals to drive adding means to add thevalues of the coins. Connection between the adjacent terminals can bemade easily and simply, such as by connecting only one jumper wire pertype of coin being detected. Thus, for example, to adapt the device fortotalizing coins in the United States, it would require the connectionof only five jumper wires. A multiplier circuit is provided with inputsfor each of the scaling values used to scale the signals from the coinidentification means. The multiplier preferably makes uniquecombinations of pulses of one, two and five units of time duration eachin order to multiply the coin identification signals by the appropriatescaling factor. The coin identification signals are stored temporarilyand then read out sequentially by means of a stepping register. Aftermultiplication, the signals are counted by a binary-code decimalcounter, and the total is displayed on a six-digit light-emitting diodedisplay panel. The coins are sorted by an electrically-driven mechanicalsorter. A circuit is provided for detecting power interruptions whichoccur while the sorter is in operation. This circuit causes a lamp toflash and thus indicates that a power interruption has occured andallows the operator to recount and sort the coins to correct anypossible error.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be pointed out in orapparent from the following description and drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sorter-totalizer device constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of the totalizing circuitry forthe device shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 together comprise a more detailed circuit diagram of thecircuit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram used in explaining the operation of thecircuit shown in FIGS. 2-4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of a portion of the operatingcircuit of the device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram of an alternative embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 1 shows a coin sorter-totalizer device 10. The device 10 includes ahousing 12 with transparent hinged covers 14 and 16. Beneath the cover14 is a hopper 17 into which coins to be sorted are loaded. Aconventional sorting mechanism is provided. This mechanism includes arotary sorting wheel 18 to pick the coins up one-by-one and transferthem down a chute past a series of devices (illustrated schematically)which detect the diameters of the coins passing by, and deflect thecoins into separate intermediate trays 20, one for each coin diameter.Coins of the largest diameter are removed first, and the smallest last.Each selector element includes a coin detector (A through H) which is aphotoelectric or radio-frequency proximity detector for developing anelectrical signal in response to the passage of a coin on its way to itsintermediate storage tray 20. The device 10 includes totalizer circuitrywhich adds the values of the coins and indicates the total value on adisplay panel 24.

After a batch of coins has been sorted and counted, and the total valueappearing on the display 24 has been checked, the contents of each ofthe intermediate trays 20 can be released by the operator by operationof a lever 28 on the left hand side of the machine so that the contentsof the intermediate trays fall into the lower drawers 22 from which thecoins easily can be removed.

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of the totalizing circuit ofthe sorter-totalizer 10. The coin detectors 34 are labeled A through Hto correspond to the labeling in FIG. 1. The signals developed by eachof the detectors is stored temporarily in one of eight electroniclatches 40. A shift register 38, driven by a clock source 36,sequentially samples the latches 40 and reads out their contents ontothe terminals labeled vertically A through H. A multiplier circuit 32 isprovided for scaling the coin detector signals. The multiplier circuithas 15 input leads 44 which are marked with the numbers 1, 2, 5 . . .10,000 in FIG. 2. The numbers marked adjacent the wires correspond tothe multiplication factor provided by connecting one of the coindetector terminals A through H with that multiplier circuit inputterminal.

In accordance with the present invention the vertical row of terminals Athrough H and the multiplier input terminals 44 are arranged in two setsadjacent one another so that connection between terminals can be madequickly and easily by connecting jumper wires 42 in the manner shown inFIG. 2.

The multiplier circuit produces pulses on five output lines numbered 1,10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000. These lines are connected to a six-digitbinary-code decimal counter 48. The counter counts the signals from theoutput leads of the multiplier circuit 32, and displays them on a sixdigit light-emitting diode ("LED") display 52. It is this display whichappears in the panel 24 in the front cover of the sorter-totalizer inFIG. 1. As it will be explained in greater detail below, the multipliercircuit 32 is unique and advantageous in that it provides logiccircuitry for combining three input signals P₁, P₂ and P₅, which arepulses of 1, 2 and 5 clock pulses long each.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show further details of the circuitry shown in FIG. 2.

Now turning to FIG. 3, three of the coin detectors A, B and C are shownin the upper left-hand corner of the drawing. The other detectors havebeen omitted in order to avoid unnecessary repetition.

The first detector A is connected through a resistor 60 and a circuit66, consisting of a parallel resistor 62 and capacitor 64, to anintegrated Schmidt trigger amplifier 68 which produces an output pulsewith a steep wavefront for operating the latch circuit 40.

The latch circuit 40 includes two flip-flops 70 and 74. Normally,flip-flop 70 is set and flip-flop 74 is reset. When a signal isdelivered to flip-flop 70 from the coin detector device, flip-flop 70changes state and sends a signal over line 72 to the second flip-flop74. The flip-flop 74 is a clocked device which requires a signal oninput line 75, as well as on line 72, before it will produce an output.When a sampling signal is supplied on line S₁ (line 75), the flip-flop74 changes state and produces an output signal on terminal A through aninverting amplifier 76. Towards the end of the sampling cycle, while S₁is still energized, a reset signal is delivered through an invertingamplifier 80 over a line 82 to the reset terminal of flip-flop 74. Theoutput of flip-flop 74 is sent back over line 78 to the reset terminalof flip-flop 70 so that it is set to its initial condition again. Itshould be understood that the shift register 38 operates throughhundreds of cycles per second, a rate which is much higher than the rateof sorting coins.

Each of the other coin detectors B through H is connected to circuitryidentical to that to which detector A is connected, except that eachlatch circuit 40 is connected to a different one of the shift registerterminals S₂, S₃ . . . S₈.

The shift register circuit 38 actually consists of threeseries-connected shift registers 54, 56 and 58. The timing of theoperation of the shift registers 54, 56 and 58 is indicated in thewaveform diagrams of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, a series of clock pulses is shown in the upperportion of the drawing. The time period shown is a little more than 16clock pulses, which is slightly more than one cycle of operation of theshift register 58.

During the first cycle of operation, shift register output line S₁ isenergized. The signal on line S₁ is shown in FIG. 5 and lasts forapproximately 16 clock cycles. As is shown in FIG. 3, two flip-flops 88and 90 are connected to output lines from shift register 54, and oneflip-flop 86 is connected to outputs from shift register 56. The twoinput lines to flip-flop 90 are connectd to the shift register 54 sothat the flip-flop 90 operates for just one clock cycle. This produces apulse P₁ on the output line 104 shown in FIG. 3 slightly after the startof signal S₁. The pulse P₁ is shown in FIG. 5.

Similarly, the flip-flop 88 is connected to the shift register 54 sothat it is turned on for two clock cycles. This produces the pulse P₂(FIG. 5) on output line 102 (FIG. 3).

Also similarly, flip-flop 86 is connected to the shift register 56 sothat it is turned on for five clock cycles. This produces a signal P₅equal in length to five clock cycles on line 100 (FIG. 3). Towards theend of the signal S₁, the shift register produces a negative reset pulseR (FIG. 5) which is delivered over lines 82 and 84, etc. to reset thelatches 40.

Shortly after the reset pulse is completed, the shift register 56overflows and shift register 58 steps one step. This ends signal S₁ andstarts signal S₂ (FIG. 5). Similarly, the entire cycle is repeated andsignal S₂ ends when signal S₃ starts, as is indicated schematically inFIG. 5.

The purpose of the 1, 2 and 5 clock-pulse long trains produced on lines100, 102 and 104 will be explained below.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the multiplier circuit 23 is provided for"scaling" (i.e., multiplying) the signals appearing on terminals Athrough H by an appropriate scaling factor. A separate input terminal isprovided for each of a plurality of different scaling factors. Thescaling factor for each input terminal is indicated by the number nextto it. Thus, there are 15 different scaling factors, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20,25, 50, 100, 200, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, and 10,000.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention the coin identificationterminals A through H and the multiplier circuit input terminals 44 aremounted adjacent one another on a printed circuit board 45 so that theycan be connected by means of jumpers very readily. The connectionprocess is very simple; all that need be done is to connect one jumperfrom a given coin identification terminal to a particular multiplyingcircuit input terminal. For example, the jumpers 42 shown in FIGS. 2 and3 are connected as they would be for sorting and totalizing UnitedStates coins. Since the largest coin normally counted in the UnitedStates is a 50-cent piece, terminal A (corresponding to the largest coindetector) is connected to the "50" input terminal. Similarly, terminalB, which identifies quarters, is connected by a single jumper wire bythe "25" input terminal. The third largest coin in diameter is thenickel. Therefore, terminal C is connected to the "5" input of themultiplier circuit 32. Similarly, terminal D is connected to the "1"terminal, and terminal E, for dimes, is connected to the "10" terminal.Thus, it is extremely easy to correlate the coin identification terminalwith its proper multiplier input terminal because of the directcorrespondence of the scaling factor for each of the input terminals tothe value of the coin.

When it is desired to adapt the totalizer device to operation withcoinage of another country, a different arrangement of jumper wires canbe used. The number of coin identification terminals and multiplierinput teminals 44 is sufficient to enable the device to be used for thecoinage of almost all countries in Europe and North America.

The multiplier circuit 32 shown in FIG. 3 consists of a number of gatesand inverters interconnecting the input terminals 44 with the threelines 100, 102 and 104 to produce signals on the output terminals 1through 10,000. The way in which this is done is readily apparent froman examination of FIG. 3, but a few of the connections will be explainedas illustrative examples.

The input terminal 1 is connected through an inverter 92 to a NAND gate96. The other input for gate 96 is from line 104, which supplies asingle pulse of one clock pulse in duration. Thus, when the inputterminal 1 is energized, the pulse of one clock pulse in duration willappear on the output terminal 1.

Input terminal 2 is connected through an inverter 94 to one input onanother NAND gate 98, whose other input is connected to the line 102.Thus, when input terminal 2 is energized, a signal of two clock pulsesin duration appears on output terminal 1.

Input terminal 5 is connected to one input of a NOR gate 106 whoseoutput is connected to one input of a NAND gate 108. The other input ofgate 108 is connected to line 100 which receives a five clock pulse-longsignal. Thus, when input terminal 5 is energized, a five clock-pulselong signal appears on output terminal 1.

Input terminal 25 is connected to one input of a NOR gate 110, and alsoto an input terminal of NOR gate 106. The output of gate 110 isconnected to one input of NAND gate 112, whose other input is suppliedwith a two clock-pulse-long signal appears on output terminal 10. Inthis manner each of the inputs is represented on the output terminals ina form suitable for the operation of a binary-code decimal converter.

The multiplier circuit 32 is highly advantageous in that it provides allof the scaling factors necessary for counting and sorting most coins ofEurope and North America (as well as other parts of the world) with theuse of only three pulse generators 86, 88 and 90. The entire usefulspectrum of scaling factors can be represented by various combinationsof signals having relative time durations of 1, 2 and 5.

Referring next to FIG. 4, the terminals 1, 2, 5, . . . 10,000 in FIG. 4correspond to the output terminals 1, 2, 5, . . . 10,000 of themultiplier circuit 32, to indicate the interconnection between the twofigures.

The counter 48 includes six binary-code decimal stages 110. Each stageproduces a four-level binary coded output on four output lines 111. Thefirst counter stage receives an input signal to be counted through aninverter 112. The other stages receive input signals through one ofseveral OR gates 116. The "carry" signal from each stage to the next isthrough an inverter 114 and the OR gate 116. Thus, for example, if the"250" terminal from FIG. 3 is energized, a two clock-pulse signal willappear on the "100" output terminal, and a five clock-pulse signal onthe "10" output terminal. Thus, the second and third counter stages inFIG. 4 would be driven and the other would not.

The six-digit LED display 52 includes six separate circuits 122. Thedetails of one such circuit are shown in FIG. 4. The output lines 111from one of the counter stages are conducted to an encoder-drive circuitdevice 128 of conventional construction which converts the four-wirecode into a seven-wire code to energize the seven-segment LED display124 through seven resistors 126. The components 124 and 128 are wellknown and readily available.

The manner in which the counter 48 counts is as follows. Clock pulsesare delivered to the counter stages over a line 120. Those pulses can becounted only when there is an enabling signal on one of the input leads1 through 10,000. Thus, for example, when terminal 100 in FIG. 4 isenergized with a five clock-pulse-long signal, the third counter stagewill be enabled to count five clock pulses. This will produce the numberfive in the third position of the LED display 52. The most significantnumber is at the right in FIG. 4, and the least significant is at theleft.

The three LED display devices 122 representing the least significantdigits in the display have leads 132, 134 and 136, respectively, which,when grounded, will cause a decimal point to appear in the display. Aswitch 130 is provided for selectively connecting one of the three leads132, 134 and 136 to ground so as to enable the decimal point to belocated as desired.

When it is desired to start totalizing a new batch of coins, a "clear"signal is applied to terminal 118 and all of the counter stages arereset to zero.

FIG. 6 shows a further portion of the operating circuit of the device 10which causes the power interrupt lamp 150 and the coin reject lamp 152to flash to indicate a momentary loss of power (transient) or a rejectedcoin, respectively.

The 5 volt d.c. power supply voltage for the totalizer is delivered to alevel detector 154. When the power supply first is energized, the motorswitch 166 for the sorter is off. When the voltage rises to slightlyless than 5 volts, the detector 154 delivers a signal through aninverter 156 to "set" a flip-flop 160. A short time later (10milliseconds, e.g.) a one-shot multivibrator 158 delivers a reset signalthrough a NAND gate 162, an OR gate 164 and inverter 170 to reset theflip-flop 160. The reset signal also resets a flip-flop 172 which is"set" by operation of the coin reject sensor whose signal is received onterminal 180.

A slow (1/2 H_(z)) oscillator 178 is connected to one input each of NANDgates 174 and 176. If flip-flop 160 is "set" the oscillator 178 isenabled to flash the lamp 150 to indicate a power interruption. Thishappens when the power supply voltage drops below the level of detector154 while the motor switch 166 is on. When the switch 166 is on, thegate 162 will not transmit the reset pulse from the one-shot 158. Thus,the lamp 150 will flash.

The coin reject lamp 152 will flash when a signal on terminal 180 "sets"the flip-flop 172.

The lamps 150 and 152 are turned off and the flip-flops 160 and 172 arereset by closing the "CLEAR" switch 168.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative form of the invention in which a multiplecircuit element 138 is used to form the interconnection betweenterminals A through H and 44. The device otherwise is the same asdescribed above. The multiple circuit element 138 can take severaldifferent forms. It can be a printed circuit card which can be pluggedinto a receptacle, or a pre-wired "plug," or a semiconductor read onlymemory ("ROM"). A separate multiple circuit element can be prepared foreach country. This can simplify even further the process of modifying amachine for use in a given country.

Another embodiment of the invention also is illustrated in FIG. 7.Instead of the multiplier circuit 32, a multiple circuit element 138(e.g., a ROM) is provided as a look-up table to look up the scalingfactors which are stored in memory. Of course, the ROM includesaddressing logic, and will require a decoder 140 to convert the outputof the multiple circuit element 138 into a form suitable for driving aBCD counter.

The invention described above meets the objects set forth at thebeginning of the specification. The device can be modified very easilyfor use in different countries. Only a single jumper need be connecedfor each type of coin to be detected. Furthermore, the device isrelatively simple, reliable and efficient in operation. The devicedetects power interruptions so as to enable the operator to recount thecoins in case of error.

The above description of the invention is intended to be illustrativeand not limiting. Various changes or modifications in the embodimentsdescribed may occur to those skilled in the art and these can be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

We claim:
 1. A coin totalizer device comprising coin identificationmeans for producing coin identification signals, coin value addingmeans, terminal means including two sets of terminals, one set for saididentification signals and the other for said adding means, and meanssupporting said terminal sets adjacent one another and adapting saidterminals to receive variable interconnections in order to providescaling of the coin identification signals in accordance with the valuesof said coins in different countries, a multiplying circuit connected tosaid adding means, said other set of terminals comprising inputterminals for said multiplying circuit, said multiplying circuit beingadapted to produce a pre-selected multiplication at each of said inputterminals, the number of said input terminals being greater than thatnecessary for totalizing the coinage of any single one of a pre-selectedgroup of countries.
 2. A device as in claim 1 in which said multiplyingcircuit is adapted to produce an output by combining pulses havingrelative time durations of 1, 2 and
 5. 3. A device as in claim 1including means for sorting coins into multiple compartments atrandomly-spaced time intervals, a separate coin identification signalgenerating means for each compartment, means for storing theidentification signal from each such signal generating means, and meansfor sequentially reading the signals from said storing means into saidmultiplying circuit.
 4. A device as in claim 1 in which there is, in oneof said sets, one terminal for each of a plurality of types of coins,and, in the other set, one terminal for each of the multiplicationfactors required for totalizing coins from a plurality of differentcountries, the number of said input terminals for said multiplyingcircuit being substantially greater than the number of said terminalsfor said identification signals, whereby the interconnections for agiven country can be made with one jumper for each type of coin.
 5. Adevice as in claim 4 including a plurality of program jumpers, eachjumper being connected between one of a plurality of terminals in oneset to one terminal in the other set.
 6. A device as in claim 1 in whichsaid multiplying circuit is a pre-wired multiple-circuit element.
 7. Adevice as in claim 6 in which said multiple circuit element is asemiconductor read-only-memory chip.
 8. A coin totalizer devicecomprising coin identification means for producing coin identificationsignals, coin value adding means, terminal means including two sets ofterminals, one set for said identification signals and the other forsaid adding means, and means supporting said terminal sets adjacent oneanother and adapting said terminals to receive variable interconnectionsin order to provide scaling of the coin identification signals inaccordance with the values of said coins in different countries, amultiplying circuit connected to said adding means, said other set ofterminals comprising input terminals for said multiplying circuit, saidmultiplying circuit comprising, in combination, pulse means fordeveloping pulses, a plurality of output terminals, one for each decadeof coin value, and means for selectively connecting each of said inputterminals of said multiplying circuit with said pulse means and saidoutput terminals to produce decimal-coded pulses on said outputterminals.
 9. Apparatus as in claim 8 including a binary-code-decimalcounter connected to said output terminals, and a light-emitting diodedisplay driven by said counter to visibly display the total value ofcoins.
 10. Apparatus as in claim 8 in which said input terminalsrepresent scaling factors of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 200, 250,500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000, and said output terminals representdecades of 1, 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000.
 11. In a coin sorter-totalizerincluding means for sorting coins from one another and producingrandomly-timed signals on one of a plurality of terminals responsive tothe detection of different types of coins, storage means for storingsaid signals, scaling and totalizing means, and reading means forsequentially reading the signals out of said storage means and into saidscaling and totalizing means, said reading means including shiftregister means, the output leads of said shift register means beingconnected to said storage means, and clock pulse generator means beingconnected to deliver to said shift register means stepping pulses at afrequency much higher than the rate at which coins are sorted in saidsorter-totalizer, said scaling means comprising multiplier circuit meansfor combining pulses having relative time durations of 1, 2 and 5 toproduce output signals representative of the monetary value of thecoins.
 12. In a coin sorter-totalizer including means for sorting coinsfrom one another and producing randomly-timed signals on one of aplurality of terminals responsive to the detection of different types ofcoins, storage means for storing said signals, scaling and totalizingmeans, and reading means for sequentially reading the signals out ofsaid storage means and into said scaling and totalizing means, saidscaling and totalizing means including combining means for combiningpulses 1, 2 and 5 units of time duration to provide scaling, saidstepping register means including a clock source, at least two separateshift registers connected in series, the first of said shift registersincluding means for turning a first switching device on and off for onecycle of the clock signal, for subsequently turning a second switchingdevice on and off for two clock cycles, and for subsequently turning athird switching device on and off for five cycles, and for subsequentlydeveloping a carry signal to stop the second of said shift registers,said second shift register producing sequential reading signals at theends of the cycles of operation of the first shift register.
 13. Amethod of fabricating coin value totalizers, said method comprising thesteps of providing means for identifying said coins and producingcorresponding electrical identification signals on a plurality ofidentification terminals, providing means having a plurality of inputterminals for driving a totalizing device by an amount dependent uponwhich input terminal is energized, each input terminal corresponding toa specific multiple of an indentification signal, the number of suchinput terminals being greater than that necessary for any one country,mounting said identification terminals and input terminals adjacent oneanother in said totalizer, and interconnecting said identificationterminals and said input terminals in accordance with the value to beascribed to the coin identified by the signal on each identificationterminal in the country in which the totalizer is to be used.
 14. Amethod as in claim 13 in which said interconnecting step comprisesconnecting only one jumper wire between each of a selected group of saididentification terminals, and one of said input terminals.
 15. A methodas in claim 13 in which said interconnecting step comprises connecting apre-wired multiple circuit element between said identification and inputterminals.